(but we will do one more after classes start)
All three of us are going to miss a lot; from incredible scenery
to EPIC food, and of course the awesome people with whom we’ve had the pleasure
of working for the last seven weeks. But, alas, it is time for us to make a (roundabout)
trip back to Webb.
Last week concluded with all three of us working in Rhino
and Jack getting a last-minute summons to a highly important meeting. The work
he did on visibility studies proved to be critical.
After work on Friday, we drove up to Vojak, the peak on top
of Ucka (which Ian hiked in the fog a few weeks ago) and finally got a chance
to take in the view we’d heard so much about. We could see the whole way to
Italy in one direction, and out into the Kvarner Bay of Croatia in the other. 
On Saturday we visited the farmer’s market here in Rijeka.
Carts of fresh fish – some of which were still moving – and massive portions of
vegetables, meat, and bread were everywhere. It took us more than an hour to go
through the entire market, by which point we’d all eaten way too much cevapi. By
the time we left the market, a car show of sorts had taken over the main street
in downtown Rijeka. Heavily modified automobiles burned rubber, honked horns,
and chased each other. Clouds of smoke billowed through the streets and
onlookers hollered at the display.
In the afternoon, we went sunbathing on the pier in front of
the port, which felt more like a spring Californian day than a winter European
one. Jack’s ankle-dipping escapades resulted in an unfortunate watermark when a
wave caught him mid-torso. Unlike Jackson, he does not have quick-dry clothing.
That evening, we caught up with our colleague Rafael and two
of his friends at a café. Stories of our various adventures swapped, we parted
ways to enjoy pizza before retiring to our apartment.
Sunday, we became accidental fishermen when a local whom we
met while out walking asked for assistance in baiting, netting, and reeling in
the creature below.
Our morning consumed, we drove off to Opatija to see a Carnival
parade. People of all ages were dancing, eating, and singing in the streets.
Floats, cars, buses, and shopping carts formed a steady stream of themed skits
that traveled from one end of the town to the other. That night we enjoyed a
wonderful Italian-style dinner in the same town, and finally closed out the
weekend.
This week, work has been a little different. Jack has been
modeling in Rhino, Jackson has been using Multiframe software for structural
analysis of hull blocks, and Ian has been doing cathodic protection
calculations and lines plans.
Tuesday night, the three of us went out to dinner with the
operations manager, technical manager, administrative office manager, and
managing director of Metal Shark Croatia and the Vice President of Engineering
of Metal Shark Boats. We had an awesome conversation, discussed our work over
the last few weeks, and enjoyed yet another spectacular Croatian meal (Daria strikes again :)).
On Wednesday, we visited the faculty of the University of
Rijeka to take part in an ongoing collaboration between Metal Shark Croatia and
the university. To help in understanding some of the differences in education
between the United States and Croatia, we delivered a presentation about Webb
Institute to the Dean of the College of Engineering. Afterwards, we met with
several engineering graduate students and took a tour of the university’s laboratory
spaces.
Shoutout to Bojan for spending half of Tuesday teaching Ian
how to use Rhino and MaxSurf
Shoutout to Drazen for introducing us to the (actual) best
burgers
Shoutout to Gil for his extremely kind words, to others, about our
education at Webb
No comments:
Post a Comment